My dreads, beard, earrings all have scriptural backing – Late Pastor Taiwo Odukoya’s son, Jimmy

The Senior Pastor, Fountain of Life Church. Jimmy Odukoya, has said he has a spiritual backing to his mode of dressing.

Odukoya, who appears in a muscular body with dreads, spoke to BBC News Pidgin in an interview on Wednesday.

He noted that he was called by God, adding that it was quite a big responsibility for him.

He said after he was ordained as a pastor in 2009, he became a pastor in the church three years later.

The senior pastor gave several examples as backings on different modes of dressing, particularly citing the story of Samson in the Holy Bible when God told him not to cut his hair, as a reason for him keeping dreads.

He said, “God has called me into this new season of my life. This new position is a big responsibility. All of my focus is here (on the church). As for my dreads, most people don’t know I can back up everything I do with scripture.

“If you say I’m wrong to keep my hair as a pastor, I can tell you that God told Samson not to cut his hair in the Bible. That means long hair is not a bad thing. Also, if you say the pastor is keeping a beard, I can tell you that the Bible says that when Jesus was tortured, they pulled hair from his face.

“If you say this pastor is putting on earrings, I can tell you that in the book of Exodus, when the children of Israel got out of Egypt and wanted to do golden calf, they collected jewelry, rings, and earrings from their sons and daughters.

“Anybody can do what they want. A personal opinion is different from saying something is sinful. You should not use your own personal opinion to judge me.”

Odukoya stated further, “I was ordained as a minister in 2009 and became a pastor in the church in 2012. I was the lead pastor of the youth church until 2020 or 2021.

“With the things I’ve witnessed in life, there’s nothing that can shake me. I’ve lost two of the closest people to me—my father and mother—and, to an extent, some members of my family, including my aunt and grandparents. When the thing you feared most happens, then there’s nothing again.

“In all of this, my father was a strong man. He was full of life and energy,” Odukoya said.